Prevention in pink, free cardiology screenings in Rome on Saturday

Free cardiological screenings and a paddle challenge between athletes and breast operated patients in the name of female prevention. In Rome, Saturday 15 October, to celebrate the ‘pink October’, the last stage of the CardioBreast Dragon Boat Festival will be held, the initiative promoted by the National Institute for Cardiovascular Research (Inrc) with the collaboration of the Italian Dragon Boat Federation , the patronage and participation of Lilt (Italian League for the Fight against Cancer), Andos (National Association of Breast Operated Women) and the unconditional contribution of Daiichi Sankyo Italia. At the Laghetto dell’Eur, from 10 to 14, forty athletes operated on for breast cancer and divided into three teams will row each other in a friendly Dragon Boat race, to the rhythm of the characteristic drum. After the race, the patients / athletes will gather to share their life and sports experiences, in order to raise awareness of the benefits of this particular sport that takes place on long boats with stern and bow that resemble a dragon. In the meantime, an Inrc camper will be available to spectators and supporters of the athletes, for free cardiological screening with heart function checks, electrocardiogram, blood pressure control and cardiac ecoscopy (for info www.dragonboatfestival.it). The protagonists of the event will be the Breast cancer paddlers of Lilt, together with the paddlers of Abbraccio rosa and Andos onlus. “The Italian Dragon Boat Federation – affirms the president Antonio De Lucia, psychologist-psychotherapist – has the pleasure of working with these athletes since 2003 and since then the associations of patients who dedicate themselves to this specific sport have multiplied, precisely because of the value particular that this discipline has in the post-operative phase both in physical recovery, thanks to the role that the rowing movement has in the reabsorption of lymphedema that usually develops following an operation for breast cancer, both on a psychological and relational level , as a team sport shared with women who have had the same experience “. A sport that in the world counts “hundreds of thousands of practitioners, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world, in the case of oncological patients operated on for breast cancer becomes a real therapeutic tool that is added to the others, in order to improve the quality of life that the disease has unfortunately upset “. “We are happy to participate in this festival – declares Anna Maria De Cave, national coordinator Dragon Boat Lilt – because despite the fact that Dragon Boat has been an official sport practiced all over the world since the 1970s and the benefits for breast operated women are now ascertained by various scientific studies, in Italy it is still too little known “. Yet “it represents an effective factor of social reintegration which, through a playful activity carried out in a natural environment, allows the sharing of the exit from the disease. Therefore, it becomes crucial to use this sport to spread a message of hope for all women who have faced difficult moments, of discouragement, of fears, and that instead in the practice of this discipline they can find the strength and courage to react and get out of the condition of isolation to re-insert themselves into the living fabric of the family, of the affections, regaining self-confidence, with an extra boost to rebirth “. Thanks to its peculiar characteristics – highlight the promoters of the initiative – this sport has been supporting the recovery and psychophysical well-being of women who live with the consequences of breast cancer for years, as well as being an optimal physical activity also for prevention in the field. cardiovascular. The discipline, widespread all over the world, requires female, male or mixed teams to row to the rhythm of a drummer sitting in the bow, while the stern helmsman maintains the course with a paddle about 3 meters long. The competition between the various boats takes place over a 200, 500 or 1,000 meter long course, with the aim of crossing the finish line first.